The Body Fights Gum Disease Better When You Are Not Fat

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An interesting study was conducted by researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. The study included 31 obese people with gum disease. Half of those in the group with an average BMI of 39 had gastric bypass surgery and had had fat cells from the abdomen removed. This half did better than a control group of people with an average BMI of 35 who did not have gastric bypass surgery or had fat removed. It was stated that “All study participants underwent nonsurgical periodontal treatments of scaling/root planing and oral hygiene instructions for home care. While both groups showed improvement, the surgery group did even better on the measures for periodontal attachment, bleeding, probing depths and plaque levels.” Periodontal disease is a potential risk of keeping wisdom teeth and is discussed in more detail over at http://www.teethremoval.com/risks_of_keeping_wisdom_teeth.html. Periodontal disease has … Read more

Should There Be a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising Ban

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An interesting article is written by Lia Mulligan titled “You Can’t Say That on Television: Constitutional Analysis of a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising Ban,” which appeared in the 2011 issue of the American Journal of Law and Medicine (vol. 37, pages 444-467). In the article it is mentioned that the average american will watch around 16 hours of pharmaceutical advertisements on TV a year. As mentioned I believe before on this blog the U.S. and New Zealand are the only 2 countries in the world that even allow direct to consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA). I personally do not like this type of advertising and neither do some of my friends. We often make fun of the advertisements when they come on TV as they sometimes can be quite silly. The article mentions in 1969 when the FDA first issued regulations for … Read more

Industry Bias in Biomedical Science

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An interesting article written by Christopher T. Robertson titled “The Money Blind: How to Stop Industry Bias in Biomedical Science, Without Violating the First Amendment,” appears in the American Journal of Law and Medicine (vol. 37, pages 358-387, 2011). The article discuses how the medical industry spends billions of dollars to create innovative products but also spends nearly as much to change the behavior patterns of those interested to make sure the products are purchased. The author states “As a veteran of the industry writes, ‘ in the pharmaeeutieal industry, there are two ways to market an approved drug for a new use: the ‘indication’ route—performing studies necessary for regulatory approval—or the ‘publication’ strategy, whieh stimulates off-label prescribing by using research ‘to disseminate the information as widely as possible through the world’s medical literature.’ “ A mention is made of a candid document by Pfizer which states … Read more

Scientific Integrity and the Commercial Speech Doctrine for Industry

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An interesting article by Joanna K. Sax titled “Protecting Scientific Integrity: The Commercial Speech Doctrine Applied to Industry Publications,” appeared in the American Journal of Law and Medicine in 2011 (vol. 37, pages 203-224). The article opens up by discussion how the economic reality of survival and profits may distort a company’s decision making process regarding full disclose on a particular drug. Dow Corning, which manufactured implants, withheld important data from long-term animal models which demonstrated adverse effects from breast implants and failed to conduct long-term studies. It was necessary for litigation in order to expose Dow’s failure to conduct the necessary studies. It was found that even though Dow denied liability they had evidence which demonstrated they had knowledge of the harmful effects of the breast implants and suppressed these findings. The author later mentions how the tobacco industry used propaganda in the 1960s … Read more

Dental Cleanings May Reduce Stroke and Heart Attack Risk

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A study in Taiwan looked at those who have had professional tooth scraping and cleaning performed and found that they had reduced risks of stroke and heart attack. The study showed that more frequent scraping/cleaning was associated with more reduced risk compared to never having teeth cleaned/scraped or occasionally having it performed. The study looked at over 100,000 people and found that if either a dentist or dental hygienist scraped and cleaned teeth those people in that group had a 24% lower risk of a heart attack and a 13% lower risk of a stroke when compared to those who never had a dental cleaning performed. The people in the study were followed for an average of 7 years. The study was conducted using data from the Taiwan National Health insurance data base. One of the researchers was Emily (Zu-Yin) … Read more